Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Spillane, Mickey (Frank Morrison Spillane), 1918–2006, American mystery writer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. After contributing stories to comic books and pulp magazines, Spillane wrote his first novel, I, the...

(Encyclopedia) Green, Andrew Haswell, 1820–1903, American civic leader, b. Worcester, Mass. He read law under Samuel J. Tilden and became his partner. Prominent in civic affairs of New York City, he held a number ...

(Encyclopedia) Frohman, Charles frōˈmən [key], 1860–1915, American theatrical manager and producer, b. Sandusky, Ohio. Starting his career as a box-office clerk in Brooklyn, N.Y., Frohman became a successful pr...

(Encyclopedia) Gershwin, George gŭrshˈwĭn [key], 1898–1937, American composer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Jacob Gershwin. Gershwin wrote some of the most original and popular musical works produced in the United Sta...

(Encyclopedia) Levine, David, 1926–2009, American caricaturist, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., studied Pratt Institute, Tyler School of Art, Temple Univ., Philadelphia, and Eighth Street School of New York. Levine's deftly sa...

(Encyclopedia) Louis, Murray, 1926–2016, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., as Murray Louis Fuchs. He served in naval intelligence in San Francisco during World War II, then stayed in the...

(Encyclopedia) Patterson, Floyd, 1935–2006, American boxer, b. Waco, N.C. He was brought up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was sent to the Wiltwyck School at Esopus, N.Y., an institution for emotionally disturbed boys, wh...

(Encyclopedia) Murder, Inc., name given to the band of professional killers who operated (1930–40) throughout the United States as the enforcement arm of the Syndicate, composed of the national heads of organized ...

(Encyclopedia) Maxim măkˈsĭm [key], name of a family of inventors and munition makers. Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, 1840–1916, was born near Sangerville, Maine. After launching on a career of inventing, he moved to...

(Encyclopedia) Broun, Heywood Campbell bro͞on [key], 1888–1939, American newspaper columnist and critic, b. Brooklyn, N.Y. He worked on the New York Tribune (1912–21) and the New York World (1921–28), where h...